Search Exotic Incidents Database

Animal Control officials confiscated and quarantined a monkey after he bit his possessor who was transporting the animal to Michigan. The man suffered minor injuries and was expected to recover.

A 6-year-old girl suffered two puncture wounds just below her left eye when she attempted to pet a monkey at Riverfront Park. The monkey’s possessor took the monkey and fled. The police were searching for the possessor. Child was treated and released. **Update 04/21/09: The possessor was found and showed that the monkey was his service monkey. The child had been warned not to pet him but didn’t listen. The monkey was quarantined for six months.

A wolf bit a 2-year-old child during a show at Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Lodge. The wolf’s handler had a history of violations in connection with his animals. The wolf was euthanized to test for rabies. The child was treated and released.

A Little Rock Zoo veterinarian euthanized a female zebra that crashed into a gate and broke her neck while being moved to a new exhibit.

According to a citation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an infant bear died from distemper.

Timmy, a 9-year-old chimpanzee, was shot to death after reportedly opening the door of a police car and attempting to attack the officer. Timmy had escaped from his possessor. Authorities checked the home and found 3 monkeys and more than 200 dogs. The Humane Society returned later with a search warrant to find all but 2 cats and 15 dogs. A reward was offered for information about the missing animals. Three people were arrested and charged.

Two 4-year-old mountain lions were removed from a Lehigh Acres residence and placed with Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs. The possessor agreed to relinquish them to avoid arrest. One cat was underweight and had parasites and the other needed surgery to treat injuries.

A 3-1/2-ft-long alligator was discovered by police in a marshy area along the banks of the Connecticut River. Officials from the Department of Environmental Protection snared the alligator and placed him with Massachusetts-based Rainforest Reptiles Shows.

One male and two female lions once kept inside a junkyard-like enclosure were moved to the Detroit Zoo. Their possessor agreed to turn them over to Thomas County Sheriff’s office after one of the cats mauled a man earlier last month. All three lions were checked out by a vet and remained in quarantine at the Detroit Zoo for 30 days, eventually introduced to the zoo’s other lions.

Tumpe, a 24-year-old female African elephant, died Tuesday at Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom. She had been suffering from skin sores and gastrointestinal problems for the past two months. Tumpe is the third elephant to die at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The park still has 12 elephants.